MADESHSBADI PARTIES MEET TO FINALIZE GOVT. TEAM

MADESHBADI PARTIES MEET TO DISCUSS GOVT.TEAM AND MAOISTS TO SORT OUT DIFFERENCES ON KEYS HANDOVER UPDATE
Kathmandu, 4 Sept: Five Madeshbadi parties met Sunday morning to finalize its government after a principled agreement Saturday to share ministries.
Prime Minister Bhattarai is expected to expand government with Maoists and representatives of Madeshbadi parties.
A meeting of Maoist office bearers also started Sunday morning. following differences in UCPN (Maoist) handover of keys and containers with their weapons of the insurgency to a special committee headed by the prime minister.
First Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya faction has openly opposed the establishment decision.
Office bearers met before a standing committee which meets for the second continuous day later Sunday to resolve differences.
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MEDIA GOOGLE
“Madesh Morcha pushed the irresponsible demand for dissolution of the constituent assembly .I resigned considering it better than dissolving the assembly.”
(Former PM Jhalanath Khanal, Annapurna Post, 4 Sept.)
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KULEKHANI’S INDRASAROVAR LAKE ALMOST FULL
Kathmandu, 4 Sept.: Water level at the Indrasarovar Lake of Kulekhani Hydropower Project Thursday reached 1,525 meters above sea level, Ananapurna Post reports from Hetauda quoting technician Hanuman Shrestha.
Water in the lake is almost full with good rainfall in the catchments
The lake will be completely full in another two weeks in the rainfall pattern continues.
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FAMILY OF NEPALI MAID OF ISRAEL PM ASKS GOVT,TO ARRANGE HOURABLE RETUN HOME TARA MALLA
Kathmandu, 4 Sept.: The family of Tara Malla has asked the government, through the local administration to arrange the hoourable return home of Tara Malla, Bhawani Adhikari weites in Annapurna Post reports from Syangjha.
Tara Malla, who works for at the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hails from Thuladihi VDC-9 in the district.
The request was made following the publication of reports of her mistreatment
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NEPAL US EMBASSY POLITICAL ANALYSIS MISSES EXPECTATIONS
Kathmandu, 4 Sept.: US officials had predicted that the CPN-UML would emerge the largest party leaving the Nepali Congress second and the UCPN (Maoist) in third position from the Constituent Assembly elections held in Nepal, Phanindra Dahal writes in The Kathmandu Post..
They had anticipated that four important Madhes based parties will collectively earn more seats than the former rebels in the April 2008 elections. A confidential cable entitled "Nepal predicting an election outcome is not easy" sent by the US Embassy in Kathmandu to State Department Washington, a day before the polling offers insights of pre-poll analysis made by its diplomats.
"The center-left communist party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist-(UML) is likely to be the biggest winner of the Nepal's April 10 Constituent Assembly election," states the cable released by whistle blower website Wiki Leaks. "Prime Minister G.P. Koirala's center-right Nepali Congress will probably be very close behind. Despite grandiose claims of imminent victory- and rampant voter intimidation-post expects that the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) will place third."
The estimate was 75-85 seats in the First Past the Post (FPTP)and better than 100, perhaps as many as 110 Proportional Representation (PR)seats under the proportional system for the UML. On April 9, UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal had told former U.S. President Jimmy Carter that he expected UML to win an absolute majority.
Nepal's claim is termed as 'hyperbole' in the cable that quotes senior UML contacts who have anticipated that the party will no more than a plurality. The cable sent by the then Ambassador to Nepal Nancy Powell claims NC will secure 75-85 seats under FPTP like the UML and slightly lesser seats than its close rival under the PR system.
Trouble in the Tarai, the NC's traditional vote bank and internal conflict within the party was observed as the reason that would push NC in the second place. The cable evaluated that the reunification of NC with Sher Bahadur Deuba led NC (Democratic) in September 2008 had failed to resolve the internal conflicts by the time of elections.
US officials had guessed 20-30 FPTP seats and perhaps 45-55PR seats will go in favor of Maoists. The cable quotes an unnamed businessman, who told the embassy officials that Maoist Chairman "Prachanda had himself predicted his party would win only 60 seats, and had added ominously that the Maoists had not waged a revolution for that poor a showing."
The Madhes based parties, according to the estimate would capture "as many as 90 seats" with Madhesi Janadhikar Forum and Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party dividing "some 80 or so" and Sadbhawana Party grabbing the rest. The US Embassy had estimated that approximately remaining 30-40 seats would be shared by the royalist parties, the minor left parties and a few single seat parties.
The lingering fears of Maoists take over and the abuses committed by YCL since late 2006 would weaken the Maoists' position, according the cable.
In contrast to the assumptions, Maoists secured surprising win with total 218 seats, by securing highest number of seats in both FPTP and PR categories. NC secured 109 seats, UML 103 seats and MPRF 50 seats in the final list declared by Election Commission.
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FIVE INDIAN TRADERS HELD FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE MISAPPROPRIATION
Kathmandu, 4 Sept.: The Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) has taken five Indian traders under its control on suspicion of misappropriating foreign exchange worth Rs 460 million on the pretext of importing goods from India, Prithvi Man Shrestha writes in The Kathmandu Post.
Five Indian nationals, including Kul Bhusan Misra, were found to have sent Indian currency equivalent to Rs 460 million to India by submitting fake customs clearance documents, according to the DRI.
The DRI had arrested them four days ago in Birgunj with the help of Parsa Police and brought them to Kathmandu before sending them to judicial custody on Thursday. DRI has demanded a bail equivalent to the embezzled amount.
“They received IC from NIC bank through draft by submitting fake customs clearance documents although they didn’t import legally,” said Shanta Bahadur Shrestha, director general of DRI. “Action will be initiated against them as per the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.”
DRI officials said nine fake customs clearance documents worth IRs 10 million were recovered from them, of which IRs 2.3 million connected to two documents was already siphoned off to India, they said. “But, they were yet to get payment of the remaining seven documents when we arrested them,” said Shrestha. All five firms, including Maxwell Computer, through which the accused carried out transactions, have been registered in Birgunj. However, DRI has not found their offices so far.
DRI also found that two of their firms had siphoned off IC equivalent to Rs 420 million in two installments (Rs 260 million and Rs 160 million) through NIC Bank over the last six months.
Admitting that the accused carried out IC transactions through them, NIC Bank denied that the transactions happened in such a volume. “We issued draft worth Rs 40 million for one firm and Rs 80 million for the other over the last six months,” said a senior NIC official. “We did so because signatures in customs clearance documents and foreign exchange transaction related documents resembled with original ones.”
NIC’s Birgunj branch had issued the demand drafts. “The bank also followed the ‘know your customer policy’ strictly in these cases,” said the official.
However, the Birgunj Customs Office confirmed that the customs clearance documents were counterfeit. Labanya Kumar Dhakal, chief of Birgunj Customs, said those documents do not even resemble with original. “They bore numbers above 900,000, but our documents have just reached near 200,000,” said Dhakal.
Of the five firms, DRI has frozen bank accounts of two, in whose names the drafts were issued. The department suspects that the IC was sent to India for the payment for under-invoiced goods. “The IC could also have been used to smuggle goods as well as selling for high commission,” said Shrestha.
“With the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) tightening IC withdrawals from Indian ATMs using debit cards issued by Nepali banks and financial institutions (BFIs), they might have used this medium to get IC,” said Dhakal.
The central bank in March last year had lowered the withdrawal limit to IRs 10,000 per day and IRs 100,000 per month. Earlier, card holders could withdraw up to IRs 25,000 per day and IRs 200,000 per month.
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HULAS TO UPGRADE MUSTANG FACILITY FOR PM
Kathmandu, 4 Sept.: Hulas Motors — a Biratnagar-based vehicle company — is manufacturing a Mustang Max including power steering, air conditioner and others facilities especially for the Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Shekhar Regmi writes in The Himalayan Times from Biratnagar.

The jeep indigenously assembled in the country has been in limelight after Dr Bhattarai liked it as his vehicle after being elected as the top executive post of the country.

“Earlier, Hulas Motors had sent 13-seated Mustang to the Prime Minister in haste,” managing director of the company Surendra Golchha said. The vehicle was sent to the Prime Minister from Pokhara showroom after Rameshwor Sapkota, a tourism entrepreneur and a close aide to the premier made an urgent call to supply the jeep.

After the Prime Minister’s interest on the vehicle, the company has started manufacturing new jeep with updated deluxe facilities for him. The vehicle for the Prime Minister would have more comfortable seats, air-conditioning, power steering, central locking, power window and technology to lower the volume of the sound, he said, adding that the current Mustang used by Dr Bhattarai has not such facilities.

The company is not sure either the government will buy the current Mustang or not. Hulas Motors that began assembling the vehicle in the country in 1998 has sold 1,000 vehicles so far. The company that produces chasis, body, seats, bumper, and glass in Nepal assembles the vehicles by importing engine from China. Hulas Motors is producing different brands like Hulas Mini (V), Mustang V2, and Mustang. These vehicle brands are popular in the hilly areas of Baglung, Myagdi, and Mustang.

Mustang Max-diesel gives a mileage of 11 km per liter and priced from Rs 1.4 million to Rs 2 million, according to facilities added in the vehicle. The Mustang used by the Prime Minister costs Rs 2 million, where as the updated version will cost Rs 2.2 million.

Golchha said that he had heard that even Nepal police and Nepal army are mulling over buying the vehicles of his company to use in hilly areas. “It has boosted our morale,” he said, adding that the company is producing 40 to 50 units annually, though it has the capacity to manufacture 150 units.

“We can deliver our service according to demand,” Golchha pledged, adding that that the company was receiving floods of congratulations after the Prime Minister started using as his official vehicle.

“It is the happiest moment for the company and it has posed both challenges and opportunities for us,” Golchha said. “The price of Mustang could come down, if the government relaxed tax.”

Dr Bhattarai selected to use Mustang as his official vehicle despite security warnings, as according to his party line, he wants to encourage nationalist capitalists that is, according to the communist doctrine, necessary for revolution.

The communist doctrine stated that farmers, labourers and nationalist capitalist forces can help make the revolution successful.
Motors is the leading and the only commercial vehicle manufacturer in Nepal manufacturing LCV as well as MUV. It was established in the year 1996 as a sister concern of Golchha Organisation, one of the biggest organisations in Nepal. The design of Sherpa, Mustang and Mini V all are indigenous.
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FOREIGN MINISTRY OKAYING LABOUR ATTACHE LIST
Kathmandu, 4 Sept.: Ministry for Foreign Affairs is scanning proposed labour attachés before appointing in six destination countries, The Himalayan Times reports.

The government is appointing six labour attachés including in Kuwait and South Korea for the first time, apart from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Malaysia.

“We are discussing with diplomatic missions in the countries,” assistant spokesperson of the ministry Tirtha Raj Wagle, said, adding that they are positively scrutinising the appointments whether they are able to protect Nepali workers interest in the destination countries or not.

According to him, decision on labour attachés will be taken after appointment of new secretary and foreign minister. Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not take any decision

without consulting secretary and minister, he said.

Both the posts are vacant at the time. Ministry of Labour and Transport Management has started process of labour attaché in May for 10 destination countries.

After consultation with stakeholders, the number was reduced to six as Japan, Hong Kong, Israel and Oman were omitted from the list due to less Nepali migrant workers in these countries.

According to Foreign Employment Act, the government should appoint labour attaché in those destinations where above 5,000 Nepalis are working or above 1,000 women are working.

Hong Kong and Israel have banned Nepali workers from years. The ministry is facing difficulties to appoint labour attaché in Oman as there is no diplomatic mission.
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